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What is the department doing to ensure decisions are lawful and robust?
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations is conducting two reviews to ensure decisions taken are made in a lawful and robust manner. These include:
- An independent assurance review is examining the IT system operating the Targeted Compliance Framework against policy and business rules to ensure the system is operating as intended.
- A legal review is also examining whether decisions are being properly made and whether decision making processes are aligned with the law.
This work has identified examples where the system is not operating in alignment with the law and policies or is not operating with the rigour that we expect.
Decisions that affect people's social security payment can have a profound impact on people.
This has led to decisions to pause decision making in some parts of the system.
If we have reasonable concerns that the system is not operating in accordance with the law, we will work to change the processes and systems, so decisions are being made lawfully.
What other decisions under the Social Security Administration Act are paused?
Some decisions under the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999 are paused.
These will remain paused until we are certain that the processes and systems support lawful and robust decisions.
On 5 March 2025 the Secretary took a decision to pause cancellations of people’s social security payment and imposition of preclusion periods due to an “unemployment failure” (defined in section 42AE) made under subsection 42AH(1) and (2) of the Administration Act. These remain paused.
On 6 March 2025, the Secretary took a decision to pause reductions to people’s social security payment due to persistent mutual obligation failures made under subsection 42AF(2)(c) of the Administration Act. These remain paused.
Earlier decisions were taken to pause two further decisions occurring. These are set out below.
- On 4 July 2024, social security participation payment cancellation decisions due to persistent mutual obligation failures made under subsection 42AF(2)(d) of the Administration Act were paused.
- On 24 September 2024, social security participation payment cancellations where a person has not complied with a ‘reconnection requirement’ within 4 weeks after being notified of that requirement under section 42AM were paused.
What are mutual obligation requirements?
Job seekers have mutual obligation requirements when they receive a social security participation payment.
These mutual obligation requirements set out activities that a person does to demonstrate their willingness to actively seek and to accept and undertake pause work.
Mutual obligations will vary depending on a person’s circumstances.
A failure to meet them can result in a suspension of income support.
What is an unemployment failure?
An unemployment failure occurs when a person who is receiving, or has made a claim for, a participation payment (jobseeker payment and, for some people, youth allowance, parenting payment and special benefit) becomes unemployed as a direct or indirect result of a voluntary act, or as a result of the person’s misconduct as an employee.
However, a person does not commit an unemployment failure if they:
- satisfy the Secretary that the voluntary act leading to unemployment was reasonable; or
- is the principal carer of at least one child or has a partial capacity to work, and the person became unemployed from work that was for more than 15 hours per week.